Percival started playing baseball at Moreno Valley Youth Federation (MVYF).

He batted .203 in his only season as a catcher with the Boise Hawks and was converted to a pitcher when coaches noticed that his return throws to the mound were actually faster than the pitches he caught.

The others are Mark Clear (105, 1980), DeWayne Buice (109, 1987), Bryan Harvey (101, 1991) Scot Shields (109, 2004) and Francisco Rodríguez (123, 2004).

That year en route to winning the World Series, he was 7 for 7 in save opportunities, tying John Wetteland for most saves in one postseason (since tied by Brad Lidge, Koji Uehara and Greg Holland; Robb Nen was also 7 for 7 but blew one on the eighth opportunity).

However, after a mediocre start to his career at Comerica Park, during which he converted eight saves from 11 opportunities and posted an ERA of 5.76, Percival suffered a serious injury to his right forearm in early July.

Though he didn't pitch a game during the Tigers' run to the American League Championship, the team voted Percival a ring and a full playoff share.

However, believing his arm to have finally healed, he requested his release from his minor league coaching contract to pursue a comeback.

Percival signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and joined the big league team on June 26, 2007.

On May 22, 2009, a day after allowing two runs in 1/3 of an inning against the Oakland Athletics, Percival was placed on Tampa Bay's disabled list.

[8] On September 24, 2012, Percival was hired as head varsity baseball coach at his alma mater, Moreno Valley High School.